


And when you tell me that you love me I can almost feel it

by trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once



Series: Sweet Hibiscus Tea [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hair Braiding, Happy Tommyinnit, Happy Tubbo, Healthy Coping Mechanisms, I love the fact that isn't technically a tag, I ramble in these tags too much lmao, I'm so proud of them, Light Angst, Look man, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Soulmates, These boys are learning to process their traumas in a healthy way!!, They are happy and living their best life, This is a happy story, Toby Smith | Tubbo and TommyInnit Run Away, Touch-Starved, and write a fic about two best friends braiding each others hair to feel better, but they are healthy!, just two best friends living on a farm together, learn to express their love and how to relax and have some peace, sometimes you just need to ignore canon, they are best friends your honor and they will act like it, this is possibly the fluffiest thing I've ever written and I lowkey love it, very very light, what will they do?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once/pseuds/trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once
Summary: Tommy hadn't cut his hair in a year and it was starting to show. So when his hair starts getting in the way of his work around the house, there's clearly only one solution to the issue.Annoy Tubbo into braiding his hair for him. Somehow, it works.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: Sweet Hibiscus Tea [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060475
Comments: 25
Kudos: 753





	And when you tell me that you love me I can almost feel it

**Author's Note:**

> Look man, I don't know where this idea came from but long-haired Tommy popped into my mind and me and my friend's love language is literally braiding each other's hair. With everything going on in canon I decided I needed a cute story of these two lol
> 
> Also, just as a reminder please don't ship them!! There is a lot of like, hand-holding and cuddling and general touchiness but its all platonic and they're just best friends!!

Tommy hasn’t cut his hair in almost a year and it was starting to show. Around a year into his escape to the jungle he grabbed some shears and sliced most of it off, and it was uneven and probably looked bad, but it was out of his eyes and that was really all that mattered. It wasn't like he was around many people who would judge him for his bad haircut.

But now it was once again getting longer and it was starting to get annoying, but not enough that he felt the need to actually do anything about it yet. Living on his own out here made him a bit lazy about things like that. When you had to be entirely self-sufficient things like personal grooming often got shoved to the side.

He had to try a bit harder now that Tubbo was here. Before his friend showed up he could go weeks without showering or anything like that because no one else was around to judge him and water was sometimes hard to find in large quantities. He normally had a healthy coating of dirt on him at all times, which helped a lot with the animals too, since he blended in a bit more. 

But now that Tubbo was here he put some effort into washing more regularly, making himself more presentable and giving opportunities to his friend to wash up as well. The dirt didn’t go away, of course it didn’t with Tommy farming or walking around a forest all day, but it never got abnormally thick if he could help it. 

The hair was a different story. So much more effort had to go into that. Washing it was harder, keeping it out of his face was a constant effort, and it seemed to attract dirt until Tubbo would remark that it looked more brown than blonde. 

Tubbo’s hair had grown a little too in the month since he had gotten here, but it was nowhere as drastic as Tommy's. Tubbo’s hair just didn’t grow as fast, which was probably a relief to the older boy. 

It was hot as hell out today, and Tommy had to pull up the melons and pumpkins before the sun damaged them. The potatoes and carrots were fine since they were underground, and he had only just planted the wheat so he thinks it’ll be okay. But he can’t risk the melons and pumpkins out in this heat. They were still a little underripe, but he was sure they’d be fine if picked now, maybe just a bit sour or tough. He can make it work. 

Tubbo had recently found Tommy’s chest of stories and had decided to read through all of them, and he looked so disappointed at the prospect of work that Tommy let him have the day off. Besides, no use in both of them being miserable. Especially since Tommy was used to things like this, he remembered his first heat wave out here and it was hell. So while Tommy worked under the blistering sun like always, Tubbo was a few feet away under the makeshift sun umbrella he made himself, Harold beside him with his head resting on Tubbo’s lap. 

The animals had pretty much taken to Tubbo immediately, much to Tommy’s joy. Clara liked to try and trip Tubbo up whenever he was walking in the forest, but also enjoyed curling up with him in front of the fire at night. Harold stuck by Tommy’s side normally, but whenever Tommy was working he knew to stay away in case he trampled anything. So he went to Tubbo instead. 

It was a bit of a relief, and Tommy knew it was sometimes overwhelming for Tubbo, but the other boy didn’t seem to mind that much so Tommy thought it was fine. The animals were weirdly good at recognizing when Tubbo needed space and giving him it, for which Tommy was grateful for. 

Tommy wiped his forehead again, frowning at the heat. Most of the crops were already harvested and stored in Tommy’s bag, but there was still a fair amount to get done. 

And the fact that he could feel his hair get plastered to the back of his neck and forehead wasn’t helping much. In fact it was kind of really annoying. He threw his hands up and collapsed into the dirt, crossing his arms in frustration. 

“You okay?” Tubbo called out, not even looking up from the book, a look of concentration on his face. 

Tommy huffed, standing up and marching to his friend before dramatically pushing Harold’s head aside and collapsing into his lap. 

Tubbo raised up his arms to allow Tommy the room, looking down at him with raised eyebrows. 

“Hi?” He said, sounding faintly amused. 

“It’s hot,” Tommy whined, leaning back in order to see his friends face. “My hair keeps getting in the way.” 

“I can cut it if you want?” Tubbo sounds confused now, not sure why Tommy decided to go to him for this particular issue. 

“Too much work,” Tommy groaned, before an idea popped into his head. He remembers being young when Techno first decided to grow all his hair out. He had similar issues, the hair always falling into his eyes, getting in the way when he was fighting or hunting. Tommy lit up at the memory of how they solved that problem. 

“Tubbo,” he said seriously, looking his best friend dead in the eyes. “Braid my hair for me.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me,” Tommy kept the grin off his face, making sure he looked deadly serious despite the laugh bubbling in his chest at his friends look of bewilderment. “Braid my hair!”

“I am not braiding your hair,” Tubbo scoffed. “Do it yourself.” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tommy asked, lifting his hands. “Look, I’m covered in dirt. I can’t touch my hair like this.” 

“You normally do anyways,” Tubbo grumbled, but a hint of a smile pulled at his lips. He was being stubborn of purpose. “I am not fucking braiding your hair for you.” 

“Then maybe I’ll force you to do the work for me,” Tommy sniffed. “Since you clearly don’t care about our food source.”

“Okay,” Tubbo said cheerfully, moving to push Tommy off so he can get up. Tommy resisted, staying firmly in place with his head in his friend’s lap. 

“Tubbo,” Tommy said seriously. “If you ever valued me and our friendship, you will braid my hair right now.” 

They stared at each other for a very long moment, neither willing to break eye contact and lose. Finally Tubbo gave in, rolling his eyes dramatically. 

“Get up,” He smacked Tommy’s head lightly and Tommy was quick to comply, cheering as he sat up and waited for Tubbo to get comfortable. 

Tubbo uncrossed his legs, spreading them open and allowing Tommy to slot himself into them and lean back towards him. Tommy was a lot taller than him, but somehow they made it work, even if Tommy knew his back would protest the awkward position later. 

Tubbo’s fingers pulled through Tommy’s hair, yanking out the knots and telling Tommy to shut up whenever he complained. Both of them were smiling. 

Carefully Tubbo separated the hair and started braiding, systematically crossing the sections over each other. 

Tommy sighed, his eyes fluttering closed as he enjoyed the feeling of his friend’s fingers running through his hair. It was relaxing. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched him so gently, had brushed their fingers through his hair and made an effort to be gentle about it. 

He thinks it was when he was younger, Techno and Wilbur taking turns braiding his hair as they practiced for getting it perfect on Techno. It was a nice memory. So was this. 

Finally, a while later, Tubbo had successfully put four braids in Tommy’s hair, none of them overly long but helping to keep it off his face and neck. 

“There you go,” Tubbo patted his shoulder, and Tommy whined, too lazy to get up yet. The blistering heat and Tubbo's arms had created a blanket of warmth around him, and he really didn't want to move. He laid back further, and Tubbo laughed, wrapping his arms around Tommy and allowing him to cuddle up to him. “Clingy much?”

“No idea what you’re talking about man,” Tommy denied, closing his eyes and practically melting into the embrace. “You’re the one holding onto me.”

“Will you let me let go?”

“Nope.” 

“Alright,” Tubbo was laughing, laying his chin on the top of Tommy’s head and sighing. 

They sat there in the sun for a long time, half shaded by the makeshift shelter but mostly just burning. Harold lay beside them contently, and somewhere in the distance Clara hissed as she hunted for her dinner. 

The melons and pumpkins did go bad, but it wasn’t that big of a loss and Tommy was still able to use the seeds. The animals didn’t care much about rotten food, so he tossed it to them and let them have it. His hair remained braided until he was forced to shower.

__________________________

The good thing about living right next to a jungle was that most of the wind was blocked by the large trees. The bad part was that only worked when the wind was coming from behind the forest. 

Tommy grit his teeth and shoved his hair behind his ears again, trudging through the wind as he tried to make it to the mine. They had run out of coal a while ago; the wind storm had been going for nearly three days now. Tubbo and him could no longer afford to hide in their jungle home and were both forced to the mine a couple hundred blocks away. 

Tommy had just moved a single shipment back to their house and was now forced again to go back to where Tubbo was mining. 

His hair was giving him hell. The long strands kept on blowing right into his face, blocking his vision as he navigated the luckily mostly flat terrain. He had dropped the coal three times in that trip, unable to see in front of him or where the coal went when it scattered. He lost nearly half the stack and wanted to scream about it. 

Finally he made it into the mine, stumbling down the stairs with tears streaming down his face from the aggravated wind and his hair a complete and utter mess. 

Tubbo took one look at him and burst out laughing. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy grips without any real heat. “I’m going to make you do the next run. I cannot deal with this stupid hair getting in my way.” 

“You could just cut it like I said,” Tubbo reminds him, picking up his pickaxe and starting to get back to work. Tommy follows. 

“But I’m a fan of the rugged look, the ladies love it,” Tommy joked, swinging the tool. “The winds out to kill us I think.”

“Yeah it’s not looking good,” Tubbo frowns, looking up at the entrance while the wind howled. “Does it get like this a lot?”

“Not much,” Tommy shrugged. “Once or twice a year? It’s a bit unpredictable.” 

“Shit luck then,” Tubbo sighs. “I think we have enough to last us for a while. We should head back out.” 

“I don’t want to go out there again,” Tommy whined, tucking his tool away. “My hair will get everywhere and I won’t be able to see and I’ll be miserable, miserable I tell you.” 

Tubbo’s smiling at him, looking amused at his suffering. Tommy huffs and crosses his arms, raising his chin in protest. 

“Want me to braid it?” Tubbo offers, and Tommy lights up at the idea. 

It was practical and fun. No more stumbling around half-blind and he gets to force Tubbo to do something for him. 

“Fuck yeah!” He cheers, turning around and sitting on the bottom step. Tubbo laughs and settles on the one above him. The stone is cold under Tommy’s ass but its nothing too bad. The warmth from the torch and Tubbo right behind him helps. 

“We should bake some cookies,” Tommy throws into the silence as Tubbo’s fingers get to work. 

“Jesus Christ, what is it with you and cookies,” Tubbo groans, tugging gently on the hair. “You literally made a batch yesterday.”

“And I’ll do it again,” Tommy sniffs. “My cookies are delicious and its the only useful thing to use cocoa beans for.”

“You could just limit the size of the farm?” Tubbo asks sarcastically, as if Tommy would ever even think of such a thing. His cocoa bean farm was thriving and he was practically getting stacks of it every week. 

“Blasphemy,” Tommy scolds him. “You’ve betrayed me Tubbo. How dare you.”

Tommy feels Tubbo’s fingers pause for a moment, stuttering in their movement before resuming the braiding. Tommy closes his eyes, wincing a little bit. Still a sore subject. They were probably going to have to talk about that soon. 

“Besides,” Tommy continues loudly. “I know you secretly love my cookies. You eat multiple on the daily.” 

“So we don’t waste them!” Tubbo protests, finishing one braid and moving to the next. "Surely you don't want them going bad and for someone who makes them by the dozen you never eat any!"

“You can’t lie to me Tubbo, I can read your mind and it’s telling me you love those things.”

“How about pumpkin pie?” Tubbo weakly offers. “You like that right? Add variety to your desserts man.” 

“I will not add any fucking variety,” Tommy declared. “Cookies or death.” 

Tubbo laughs, lightly smacking the top of Tommy’s head. They continue in silence, Tubbo engrossed in his work and Tommy enjoying the soothing feeling. Tubbo’s fingers were gently gliding through his hair, the wind outside was howling, and the torches cackled and popped beside them. All in all Tommy was content. 

“All done, Tubbo finally announces, getting to his feet. “You ready to go?” 

“Ready as ever,” Tommy grinned back, running a hand through his braided back hair. The two of them grinned at each other before grabbing their supplies and facing the storm side by side. 

________________________________________________

It becomes a common thing between them and fast. Whenever Tommy’s hair was bugging him he would just plop down into Tubbo’s lap and the other boy would grip and complain as he carefully folded the strands together. 

When Tommy had a bad day and couldn’t stop remembering Tubbo exiling him, the cruel words and actions of Dream, the time he spent horribly alone, he would find Tubbo and get lost in the calming feeling of him braiding his hair back. He would forget the fact that there was a time he was ever alone and instead focus on the fact that Tubbo was here and he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

When Tubbo felt useless and anxious like everyone’s eyes were on him but he knew he would always fail, he found Tommy and forced him to sit down. He would focus on the single activity of braiding his hair because it was something that he knew he was good at and it was something that no one would ever take away from him. When his head started pounding from the words on the books switching up too often he would shove it into Tommy's hand and force him to read out loud as he braided his hair, Tubbo relaxing at the sound of Tommy's energetic storytelling and Tommy soothed by Tubbo's gentle tugging on his hair.

When Tommy almost died because he missed a vine and crashed into the forest floor he sat patiently and let Tubbo braid his hair until his fingers were seizing up and Tommy couldn’t feel his legs. When they fought for the first time since they met back up they sat in silence later that night as Tubbo just braided his hair and no words had to be said. The apologies were spoken in the soft brush of fingers through hair and the slow relaxation into each other's arms. 

Many things were uncertain recently, the future unsure and invisible to their prying eyes. They cherished the things they held constant, the things that would never change and never faltered. 

Even if the world crashed down around them, the two of them would sit in their little treehouse and braid each other's hair until the world caved in. And maybe that was all they needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I don't know about you guys but I need some fluff with everything going on lol


End file.
